Normal people, after all
by Takara Hatake
Summary: Whan Gaara comes on holidays to Suna, he doesn't expect to experience... That kind of feelings. Oh, ok, and so what ? RomanceHumour, GaaraSakura


nlèvNormal people, after all…

Gaara had been staying in Konohagakure for quite some time, now. He was the Kazekage, of course, but some weeks ago, he had surprised the whole village by calling for a meeting and declaring he needed holidays.

Well, of course they were surprised. They hadn't seen his exhausted marks around his eyes. Or rather, they were too used to seeing marks that they couldn't tell he was on the verge of breaking down from tiredness.

So he'd had to endure the usual complaints and objections, until he finally lost the patience he'd never had, and threatened them to throttle them with his sand if they didn't stop harrassing him...

And, finally, his holidays could start. He'd left command to his older brother Kankurou, and everything would have been going just fine, if he hadn't forgotten to send his sister to a long and perilous mission.

But he had forgotten. And, every few minutes, his door would open, no matter what he did to shut it, she would even settle for using kamaitachi against the poor wooden door, in order to ask him some futile question about the way of governing, of setting up missions, and so on.

And eventually, he couldn't take it any longer, and declared he was going to spend some time in Konoha.

This time, he refused to delay anything, refused his sister's help to make his luggage, and said he didn't need any escort, thanks.

When he left, his sister said some words, that occupied his thoughts during the whole journey, even though he tried not to think about it :

"Ah, and say hello to Haruno Sakura for me !"

What the hell did she mean ? Why that Haruno Sakura ? If it had been his brother who left him the message, he would have thought his brother had fallen for the strong, beautiful kunoichi with so soft pink hair... And he would have killed Kankurou.

Just a second, I can't have thought that. Or rather, yeah, I did, but just because I don't want my brother to get mixed up with that girl... Yeah, it had to be that.

Curse Temari and her insinuations...

°°°°°

Anyway, when he arrived to Konohagakure, the first persons he met were Naruto, and his closest friends. Sasuke, Lee, Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji...

Ah, and Sakura of course. But she didn't matter, did she ?

Well, it turned out she did matter. The more he saw her, the more he thought about her, and the more he longed to see her again. And it started again from the beginning... Crap.

He also started to notice she was a bit awkward when he talked to her. Yeah, just what he needed. She was afraid of him. Just when he was falling in lo... Just when he was feeling well with the rest of the group, right.

Then he started to think maybe it wasn't that. When she invited him, along with lots of people, to her party. He came, because he knew it would be impolite to refuse, when she knew he had nothing important to do. But when he got there, he just sat on a chair, listening to what the others had to say, occasionnaly saying a word, but nothing more. And when the dance started, he stayed stubbornly on his beloved chair.

He looked at the others slowly turning on the floor, and swore to himself that he was not going to do the same. First he would look ridiculous. Secund, it didn't seem to be so much fun. What on earth was the point in turning like this ? It was even probably terribly embarrassing to be that close to somebody, wasn't it ?

Tenten dancing with Neji, Naruto with a blushing Hinata, Sasuke with Ino (!), and Sakura with a soon-dead Rock Lee.

Now that he came to think of it, Lee had changed a lot these last few years. He'd gown up, as had them all, but he'd become quite handsome, and less and less ridiculous, as his friends convinced him to surrender his haircut. And it seemed that Sakura had seen the change, for she didn't seem to mind dancing with him.

What about proposing Lee to train with him the day after ? On the beach, so that he would have more sand at his disposal...

The party went on and on, the dances followed each other, a rock (with Neji), a slow (with Lee again. Let him suffer in hell), a waltz (with Sasuke), a tango (with Naruto... that was fun even to see, even for Gaara), a waltz...

"Oh, please !You're NOT going to stay on this chair all the evening long, Gaara of the Sand ! Come and dance, and that's an order."

He glared at the pink-haired kunoichi, and answered as dryly as the element he mastered :

"I'm not going to make a fool of myself. Thanks.

-You are making a fool of yourself ! Why don't you behave normally ? In a party, you are supposed to have fun, ya know ? C'mon, come along !"

And she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the floor. He didn't really have the choice, as everybody was staring. He placed a hand on her waist and took the other in his. He felt awkward. He knew how to waltz. It was virtually the only dance he had ever practiced. So he could at least lead Sakura on the music. It lasted only three minutes or so, but for him it was hours. Sakura was looking at him and smiling in a way thas meant : "See ? That isn't so bad!", her body radiated heat and he was self-conscious about the way he moved. But when the music ended, he almost wished it could go on... He didn't know why, only, he felt like he was missing something important. But as soon as they partes, somebody had the music start again, and this time, it was a slow song...

Sakura looked around her, then smiled at him. They were surrounded by dancing couples, ans there was no way to escape without disturbing them. That wouldn't have prevented Gaara from going anyway, had not the Haruno taken him by the arm and placed him in front of her.

"It's high time you learn another dance..." she whispered.

And he found himself holding her waist tightly without really knowing how, while her body pressed against his and her slow hot breath tickled his neck. He wanted to get free but he wanted to hold her even more tightly. He wanted to stop swinging in rythm, but he felt like the music was casting a spell on him. He wanted never to see the woman he held again, and he wanted to never let go.

Finally, when the music stopped, they stayed in each other's arms for some seconds, and then they parted, Gaara looked her straight in the eyes. She stayed ther, her chin held up, to give him back his stare. Then, the spell broke, and Gaara turned away.

"I'm sorry, but I must go. Right now."

Without waiting for an answer, he headed for the door, and opened it. It looked like he was going to go without adding anything, but he stopped.

"And... Thanks."

Sakura watched him go through the window, and smiled. Who could boast about having made Gaara of the Sand, Kazekage of Suna no Kuni, Jinchuuriki, dance with her ?

She looked forward to seeing him again, the day after.

That evening, she didn't dance any more...

She dreamt.

°°°°°

The day after, they all met on the training grounds again. As always. And, as always, Gaara was sitting there, early, making statues with his sand. He stopped when he saw them, and got up.

And there, the usual routine broke. He came to stand among them, and started to talk like everybody else.

Well, he tried. The others were so puzzled that his attempts at a normal conversation soon died. He felt awkward again, until Naruto started talking again :

"Hey, Gaara, speaking of **(nothing but, hey, it's Naruto talking !)**, I didn't now you could dance !

-I didn't either."

He'd had time to think since the former evening. He smiled, for the first time in a long period, and went on speaking, trying his best to look sociable.

And then, in Sakura's mind, something unfroze. She looked at Gaara, and she thought that it was worth a try. Tah maybe, he felt the same way. That maybe, he had understood how she felt during the party. That...

"Gaara, could I talk to you for a minute, please ?"

She glanced about.

"Alone."

The others' jaw fell, and they quickly retreated to some distance away. They turned their back and started talking loudly about a new jutsu that didn't even exist.

She knew all the Hyuugas had activated their Byakugan, and that most of them were probably peeking over their shoulder. But it was now or never. If she didn't speak, she would never find the courage again.

But she suddenly felt very, very small and awkward...

"Hum, Gaara...

-Yes. Sakura.

-I wanted to ask you... I mean, I...

-No, just let me do the talking part.

-Uh ?

-Sakura, thanks for the party, yesterday...

-Oh, well... Don't worry about...

-I don't worry. I am just thanking you. And, well, what about coming to Suna with me in two days ? I must come back.

-I... I would love to, Gaara, but maybe Tsunade-sama...

-She can't argue if you are under Suna's responsability."

Sakura frowned. What was he talking about ? She was a Konoha kunoichi, sha had to obey Konoha's orders, didn't she ?

"But, Gaara...

-What I mean is, if you marry me, you become a Suna ninja, so, well, you can come with me...

-If I... If I...

-Marry me. Yes. But maybe I'm going a bit too fast ?"

He had the decendy of looking confused. The problem was, she couldn't resist that pleading look (you know, the cat in Shrek 2 ? That's it !) Who could have thought Gaara of the Desert could look so kawaii, so cute, so funny ? Hey, he wasn't only a serious and dangerous Kazekage, he was also a man, and a wonderful one, a man she'd fallen in love with.

"Maybe a little, but... I quite like the idea."

Gaara brightened, and he had one of his rare smiles.

Of course, naruto couldn't stay quiet.

"Hey ! But pink and red hair are going to clash ! It will be ugly... OOOOWWWWW !"

"Never forget my girlfriend's monstruous strenght", commented Gaara.

But before Sakura could kick him too, he grabbed her xrists with his sand, and pulled her to him.

And just after, she didn't think any more about hitting him.

It was more like, where did he learn to kiss so well. Well, seeing his past, it had to be innate.

°°°°

So ? Hate it ? Like it ? Knowing I'l frznch, so forgive the mistakes... My first Gaara/Sakura, I'm trying some strange pairings. Tell me what you think !

Takara Hatake


End file.
